Is speed of light and sound rational or irrational in nature?Regarding rationality of numbers in measurement, David Z's answer is spot on. If you are trying to grasp whether the universe prefers integers, then yes it does. Things like the resonance frequencies of strings are in strict integral relationships (f, 2f, 3f, 4f). Quantum physics is also based on integers; the idea of quanta itself is that nature is lumpy rather than continuous.

Jul10

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Classic home experiments for an 8-year-old childExactly. That's one of the things that I feel makes for a good learning experiment; there is space for multiple hypotheses, and people usually get it wrong the first time. I remember being sure it would miss, partly because it seemed impossible to hit it every time. Ping. Clatter. Gasp!

Jul9

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Classic home experiments for an 8-year-old childYes. The narrative is intended to point out that the gun is pointed directly at Kiki. The usual intuition mistake is to assume that bullets do not fall like any other projectile, or to ignore it. The set-up with the monkey letting go as the gun fires is supplying a separation of the motion vector. Clearly for a real gun to function correctly, its targets must compensate for the motion of the bullet.